U-M's Ba, MSU student in pre-game altercation

February 19, 2006|CURT RALLO Tribune Staff Writer

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- An hour before Saturday's Big Ten basketball game Michigan player Amadou Ba was involved in a confrontation with a Michigan State student. The student was taken to a local hospital. According to Terry Denbow, the Vice President of University Relations at Michigan State, the student was treated at a First Aid station at the Breslin Center, and then taken to a local hospital as a precaution for a head injury. Denbow, who declined to identify the student, said campus police reported to him that the student had been drinking. Denbow said the student is a member of the Izzone student section, and that the members sign a code of conduct in which they agree not to be under the influence or be on the court. Ba said after the game that he couldn't recall the specifics of the incident because he was so focused on the game, but he didn't feel he lost his cool. ESPN had tape of the incident. It appears to show the student exchanging words with Ba, who then sticks out his leg. The student stopped and put his hand on Ba's leg and said something to him. Ba then stood up and pushed the student away. The student fell and hit his head on the floor. According to Michigan player Brent Petway, the incident started when the Michigan State student started hollering at Petway during the pregame shoot-around. "I came out a little later," Petway said. "The guy was coming down to harass me. He kind of hit Ba's leg or something like that, and Ba kind of took exception to it, because the guy was already jawing and stuff like that. "Sometimes, it's not good to have fans who can come right out on the court and get in your face," Petway said. "He was right on the court, just walking back and forth. We kind of took exception to it and it got a little out of hand, but it was under control right away.'' Denbow, questioned by reporters about the lack of a security presence in the pregame, said the Izzone student-fan section polices itself. "We've never had a problem before," Denbow said. "The Izzone self-polices. There's never been anybody down there. "It's unfortunate to be sure, but I don't want it to be seen as institutional, at all," Denbow said. "These were individuals, and they weren't representing anybody else but their own bad behavior." Neither Denbow nor Michigan officials would comment on possible consequences for the student or Ba.